Improvement in folding tables



G. McDONALD.

FOLDING-TABLE.

Patented Aug- .l. 1876.

Wifness'es MPETEHS. FNOTdLITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, D C

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES MCDONALD, OF-ELYRIA, O H-IO.

IMPROVEMENT IN FOLDING TABLES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 180,487, ated August 1,1876; application filed June 14, 1876.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES MCDONALD, ofElyria, in the county of Lora-in and State of Ohio, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Folding Tables, Ironing- Boards,or Lap-Boards; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the'accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Figure 1 is a plan view. tudinal section.

My invention relates to folding work-tables, ironing-boards, orlap-boards; and consists of brackets, hinged or pivoted in any suitablemanner to the rails of the folding legs, and provided with springs forautomatically opening the brackets and holding them against stopsprovided w th stay-pins, for supporting the legs in an up ight positionwhen the table or board is in use, as hereinafter described.

The table-top A is strengthened by the usual stay-cleats E E. Brepresents brackets, having wrought hinge-plates a on the upper andlower edges of the brackets, connected by a Fig. 2 is a longihinge boltto plates a, fastened to the upper.

and lower edges of the rails O; and b represents spiral springs adjustedupon the hingebolt, for automatically opening the brackets and holdingthem against the stops D, which are fastened to the top A, and areprovided with pins 0, to extend through holes in the ends of thebrackets to sustain outward pressure upon the legs F, which are hinged,in the usual way, to the top of the table. The rails O are set in fromthe inner surface of the legs I sufliciently to allow space for thebrackets when folded, as shown by dotted lines in the drawings.

In unfolding the table for use, as the legs are opened in an uprightposition, the brackets spring open automatically by the force of thesprings, and are stopped at right angles to the rails by the stops D,and are held firmly by the pins on the stops, thus supporting the legsin an upright position against either outward ,or inward pressure.

In folding up the table the brackets are readily folded by the hand tothe side of the rails, as shown by dotted lines in the drawmgs.

The brackets may be used with any other suitable springs, or without anysprings, in which last-named case the brackets must be opened by hand.

'What I claim as new in folding work-tables, ironing-boards, orlap-boards, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. The bracketsB, hinged or pivoted to the rails of the folding table, and providedwith springs to automatically open the brackets, and hold them againstthe stops, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. The hinged or pivoted brackets B, provided with springs b, incombination with stops D, having stay-pins c, substantially as and forthe purposes described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own invention I affix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

CHAS. MCDONALD.

Witnesses:

W. F. BURGERT, T. N. LAMPEL.

